Across the Ages
by TrisanaChandler13
Summary: This is a collection of drabbles and one shots written for various challenges and competitions on HPFC.
1. Furry Little Secret

A/N: I own nothing. This hasn't been Betaed, so I apologize for any mistakes before hand.

It ate at his heart. The knowledge that he alone possessed.

He was a werewolf.

If people knew, he would be shunned. Hated. Exiled.

He would always be different, he couldn't help being bitten when he was so young, his life ruined before his eighth birthday.

It was torture, living through each full moon, everyone worse than the the last.

His worries plagued him constantly. What if the Marauders found out? Then he would be left with no friends and they'd tell the whole bloody school.

Perhaps, one day, he would find the courage to tell them his dirty, well no, it wasn't dirty, it was furry, alright, his furry little secret.

* * *

_Tien Lien Competition,_ Card Four: Remus Lupin

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think,_ Sneetches - a species that determines social status based on appearances. Write about someone shallow. Alternatively, write about someone who is (or perceives him/herself as) ugly.

_Hedley Song Competition,_ Villain - Write about someone who feels lonely. Alternatively, write about James Potter.

_The Star Challenge, _Polaris: It is known as the North Star, which kind of reminds me of the North Pole. Write about Christmas (at Hogwarts, or the Burrow, or wherever...). In a dark country sky, even when the full moon obscures a good deal of the starry heavens, the North Star is relatively easy to see. Every time I see the word full moon I think of Remus. So, alternatively, write about Remus.

_Favorite Character Boot Camp:_ Secret.

_Character Diversity Boot Camp:_ Sorrow.


	2. Bonds of Love and Pain

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This hasn't been Betaed, so feedback is welcome.

* * *

_The pain… The pain…_

It reverberated through her skull, slowly building, never stopping. It was only a matter of time before she broke. Yet still, she hung on to her sanity by a thread.

The pain, it was like a knife upon raw nerves! Like a tidal wave of pain, it overwhelmed her. The woman was swept away, blind and deaf to anything but the pain.

_The pain..._

In the background, the defeated woman heard the gleeful cries of men and women. Another person's voice was added to the terrible, heartrending cries. The last one was raised in paion, not joy.

_Frank, must get to Frank… No! Not Frank…_ Thoughts cycled through her broken mind._ Neville, no, protect Neville… Dimly, she wondered who these people were, why they were so important to her._

Her inability to see through the haze of pain broke her, drove the will to fight from her eyes, changed her cries to be composed of pain, not defiance.

She succumed to the darkness waiting to engulf her. She welcomed it, in the darkness, there was no pain.

* * *

Later, much later, she was pulled out of the soothing darkness, into the harsh light of day. Something in her shied away from it, and she retreated further into herself.

* * *

She tried to move, to run away, but she couldn't move. Why was she a prisoner in her own body?

There were people running tests on her and she couldn't tell them that they were hurting her. The world hurt. She sunk further into the darkness.

* * *

Many years past, and she could move now, a few of her memories had returned. Enough to remember that her son needed to go to see Albus. She wondered what his last name was, all she knew was that he'd take care of her precious Neville, and that he loved candy.

She had no sense of the years passing, but when her son came to visit, he was so much bigger than she remembered! The change was too much for her to handle, and she fled back into the darkest recesses of her mind.

* * *

At his next visit, she tried to communicate the fact that he needed to go to the Man with the Candy. She gave him a candy wrapper. SHe could already tell that he did not understand.

* * *

Over the years she tried again, and again. He didn't vist for many years. If she had been able to understand the passage of time, she would have known that he was at Hogwarts, but to her, it was simply a betrayal.

* * *

Eventually, Neville returned, no longer a schoolboy, but a married man. He had brought his wife and a child to see her.

She couldn't care, for she didn't recognize them from within the haze of pain obscuring her mind. Her beloved Frank had died yesterday.

* * *

She died the next day. Her funeral was a simple affair, for she had been forgotten by many, only her child remembered her.

* * *

_Tien Lien Competition,_ Card Seven: Alice Longbottom.

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think, _Bartholomew Cubbins: a young boy who saved his village from the terrible Oobleck. Write about an unlikely hero.

_War of the Elements Song Quotes,_ EARTH: She held the world upon a string but she didn't ever hold me. -Panic! at the Disco, "She Had the World"

_Hedley Song Competition,_ I Won't Let You Go: Write about someone who will protect another person. Alternatively, write about Peter Pettigrew.

_Random Quotes Challenge,_ "And you never know who God's gonna choose to be the next Virgin Mary." - Andrea Gibson, Every Month.

_The Star Challenge,_ Acrux: It is also known as Alpha Crucis. Write about a Horcrux (because the name kind of sounds like Horcrux, doesn't it? :P). Alternatively, write about the Cruciatus Curse.

_Delirium Challenge: _"Find the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse to let them go."

_Before I Fall Competition/Challenge:_ "It's not supposed to go this way. I'm supposed to save you."

_Het-Pairings Boot Camp:_ Time

_Character Diversity Boot Camp:_ Forgotten


	3. Regulus's Death

A/N: Don't own anything. This isn't Betaed, and this is my first time writing Walburga, so feedback is very welcome!

* * *

I ventured into my dear son Regulus's room, he had died so young. But, he had given his life for a good cause, the pureblood cause. His room was perfectly organized, so similar to how he had lived his life.

I went through his closet, packaging up his clothes, I'd get a House Elf to take them to Saint Mungo's tomorrow. After his closet was emptied, I went over to his desk. There was a letter there. A letter addressed to me, in Regulus's handwriting. It read, Dear Mother,

_I did not die for the Dark Lord's cause, I died trying to stop him._ I read that opening line over and over, my mind blank with shock. _I have left you a copy of my diary, maybe you can understand my reasoning._

_Your son,_

_Regulus_

I opened the plain black book that had appeared while I was reading the letter. I let it fall open to a page. It landed on an entry just before his death:

_Tonight, Lucius Malfoy, one of the more vicious Death Eaters, had brought a reward for his fellow terrorists. It was a young girl, a Muggle, and she was to be the new plaything. I only hope that she doesn't last as long as the last one._

_The girl's screams unnerved me._

_For once, I was grateful for my silver mask of anonymity, it hid my true feelings from the Dark Lord. If he hasn't been so weak, he would surely sense my fear._

_I hated the slaughter of anyone. Though I disliked Muggleborns, I _didn't hate them. They can't help their birth, they couldn't help their parents.

My parents would be horrified at my trairorus thoughts. But, I know that I must stop him! He murders innocent children to attack their parents. That, I cannot support. I know that I'll die stopping him, but that is the best I can do.

My mind was spinning out of control, how could this be? I felt that I had let my son down, in the most horrible of ways. At the graveyard, we talked about how nobly he had given his life for his family's cause.

We had congratulated him for a feat he hated, a fate chosen by his mother. Now, he lay in the graveyard, cold, dead, stiff, gone.

I collapsed with a cry, overwhelmed with remorse. My last thought before succumbing to the waiting blackness was '_I never knew either of my sons.'_

* * *

_Character Diversity Boot Camp: _Regret

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think,_ Sir Alaric: keeper of the King's records. Write about someone organized (besides Hermione.) Alternatively, write about an organization (such as The Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore's Army, the Death Eaters, etc.)

_The Inspiration-by-Shakespeare Challenge:_"Better thou hadst not been born than not to have pleased me better" (King Lear)'

_The Star Challenge, _Arcturus: It appears to shift its "fixed" position in the sky much more rapidly than most of the other bright stars. Write about Quidditch. Alternatively, write about Regulus, Sirius's brother.

_Delirium Challenge,_ "Love: It will kill you and save you, both."


	4. The Dead Still Walk

A/N: Not Betaed.

**Warning:** This is fairly dark, compared to what I have written. It was mostly inspired by an article sent to me by RosiePosieRW, in the New Zealand Herald: Brutal dog abuse prompts law change call.

* * *

We had long since fled our bodies. Where we now are, I can not say. As we look down on what is to be, gasps of shock and horror rise from the assembled people.

These were the deceased of the first Wizarding War. The sight before them was truly horrific. Their children, so young and innocent, had been brutally slaughtered by the decayed, deformed bodies of their own parents.

Turned to Inferi, added to the Dark One's forces. Each one, once a child, now a slowly rotting corpse. They should have been buried many months ago, yet still they walk on, killing what is in their path, taking no notice of any wound they might receive. Their only fear is fire, for even they ignite, burn, incinerate, if one can get close enough to cast "_Incendio!"_

Days, weeks, months flash by, and still the gathered spirits watch, entranced by the horrors unfolding in front of them. They can not look away.

A wail of grief pierces the gathering's silence. Another child has fallen, too young to die.

The cycle repeats, and overtime, more spirits join the gathering. There are some joyful reunions, while some never make it, their souls swallowed by Dementors, their bodies Inferi.

Soon, there is no resistance, all who resisted are dead, gone forever. Some are not merely dead, but truly gone.

A never-ending Reign of Terror grips the country, shrouding it in death and destruction. Centuries pass, the Inferi are unrecognizable now, but the Dark One rules on. There is no hope, there will be no hope.

* * *

_The Family Boot Camp: _Injustice.

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think_, Jo-Jo: a young hero who saves Whoville. Write about a child. Alternatively, write about any Next-Gen character.

_The War of the Elemental Song Quotes, _Darkness: In darkness together we ignite. -AFI, "Porphyria Cutanea Tarda."

_Hedley Song Challenge, _Never Too Late: Write about someone giving another person a second chance. Alternatively, write about Lord Voldemort.

_The Star Challenge,_ Shaula: It is located in the constellation called Scorpius. Its Arabic name means 'the stinger'. Write about Scorpius. Alternatively, write about the Death Eaters (any character from this group is fine).

_Delirium Challenge, _"You came from different starts and you'll come to different ends."


	5. Disillusionment

The sound of delighted laughter floated over the still night air.

A woman stood on the edge of the writhing mass of dancers whirling around the dance floor. Even though she belonged in this company, she was a member of this society by birth alone. While her sisters readily accepted whatever their parent told them, she took everything anyone told her with a grain of salt. Well, a handful of salt. She did not, would not, could not accept this Pureblood superiority nonsense, even though they said she was one of them.

Ever since starting Hogwarts, she had wanted to explore the _other_ culture, the _Muggle_ culture.

But, it was forbidden. And their parents didn't treat rule breakers nicely, even their own daughters. She was close enough to being disowned as it was, a Black taking Muggle Studies was unheard of!

But, she was nothing like Bella, sneaking around the halls, meeting with boys in broom cupboards, and that had started in third year, too! Yet, Bella was their parents golden girl, and could do no wrong.

She, on the other hand, was the source of all problems in the Black household.

She wondered where she would go if she was disowned. She would surely be disowned if it was discover that she was dating a Muggle.

She hoped that he would ask her to marry him. That way, she would have a home. For, the Black family manor wasn't home to her. For all she was a Slytherin, she hated the House Elf heads on the walls, the cursed clothing, the absolute _darkness_ of the old home that clung to it the way that children clung to illusions of a perfect world.

Her mind was made up. This well-bred society was simply trying to be something it wasn't, and she was _not_ planning to stick around until Papa found a husband for her.

She would leave tonight. Even though it would hurt to have everyone, no, _almost_ everyone she knew, for there was still Ted, hate her, despise her for marrying what they considered a lower species.

She would start anew with the man she loved by her side. Otherwise, the walls around her, both the societal and the physical walls, would crush her. They would leave a mindless, perfect, broken spirited Pureblood daughter. She would die before bending to their ideals.

* * *

_Tien Lien Competition: Round Two_, Spades: Andromeada Tonks.

_Character Diversity Boot Camp:_ Walls

_Het-parings boot Camp:_ Start.

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think, _Horton: an elephant who protects the world of Whoville, which is small enough to fit on a speck of dust. Write about someone who sticks to their decisions.

_The War of the Elemental Song Quotes! (Challenge/Competition), _WATER: Don't go down to the water's edge they said to me. -Seven Mary Three, "Water's Edge."

_The Random Quotes Challenge,_ "They might be glad to have me around, but I was the alpha and the omega of my parents' suffering." - John Green, The Fault In Our Stars.

_The Star Challenge, _Canopus.

_Delirium Challenge, _"It's like a razor blade edging its way through my organs, shredding me, all I can think is: It will kill me, it will kill me, it will kill me. And I don't care."


	6. Cornelius Fudge, a Muggle?

A/N: I have no idea where this came from, I was writing this for a few competitions, and it turned out as a crack!fic. Also, this hasn't been Betaed, so, yeah. I apologize for terrible puns and rhymes in advance!

* * *

"What in the name of Merlin!" Harry exclaimed, early one morning in the dreary kitchen in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. The Daily Prophet had just been delivered and duly opened. A bold, glaring headline announced the topic of the frontpage article, "Cornelius Fudge, A Squib?"

The sound of pounding steps filled the old house, a chorus of voices rose, querying for the source of the commotion. One voice rose above the others crying out, "silence!"

Silence fell immediately. "What is it, Harry," Hermione asked, having identified the person in the dim kitchen lighting. Unable to speak, Harry tossed the newspaper to her. She gasped in shock at the headline and showed it to the rest of the Order. "I suppose it could be true, when have you seen the Minister use magic, instead of order someone to do something for him?"

Discontented mutterings rose and fell in the early morning air. Eventually, Hermione dared to look at the contents of the article. She read it aloud to the Order,

**Cornelius Fudge, A Muggle?**

_Written by Rita Skeeter_

_As Mr. Fudge's term as the Minister of Magic has come to an end, his records have been released to the press so that we can learn more about this brilliant man. After being homeschooled, he applied to the Ministry of Magic and was quickly elevated in the status quo. Lucius Malfoy himself told me that he had "never seen that Muggle-loving idiot perform a spell..."_

Hermione trailed off with a shocked expression on her face. "There is more, but I can't seem to find anything worthwhile in this article."

"Something Hermione won't read," one twin said, Hermione thought it might be Fred.

"Dearie me, it must be the Apocalypse," the other finished.

"Fred, George," Molly said warningly.

"Mum, your expression would make even Ritamort tremble in fear," quipped one twin.

"No ifs, and, or bugs about it," returned the other.

Many members of the Order were struggling to hold in laughters at the twins' antics and their mum glared at the twins, a murderous expression gracing her face.

Peeves came through the floo singing, "the Minister's a muggle, all is now trouble. Over at the Ministry, there is delight in bigotry. What shall we do," Peeves turned to the twins as he said his next line, "shall we turn them blue?"

"Of course not, with all those people we will be caught," the twins chorused.

"Shut up, this is serious!" Hermione scolded the twins.

"No, this isn't serious, only worrying. Nobody but I can be Sirius," Sirius remarked.

"Well, off to the Ministry I go, dashing through the snow," Arthur sang. "Wait! I did not mean to tempt fate. I seem to have a limerick disease, and I need to sneeze! Off to Saint Mungo's, as the cure noone knows."

With that, the Order disbanded, as the limerick disease was catching. The article lay forgotten on the table, to be found another day.

* * *

_What If Challenge,_ Prompt #4: What if the Ministry of Magic was run by a Muggle?

_Oh The Thinks You Can Think_, Dad: "Stop making minnows into whales!" Write about someone trying to conceal the truth. Alternatively, write about Fudge.

_That's You Challenge:_ Susan

_Poetry Quotes Boot Camp:_ "The news of a day I've forgotten -/If I ever read it" - _A Patch of Old Snow_, Robert Frost.


	7. Haunting Memories

I grew up alone. No one wanted to annoy my cousin. The memories of our time in the same school haunt me to this day.

_At lunch, we would line up to be picked for games. Dudley was, as usual, one of the team captains. I was called last. The usual sneers from my cousin's friends accompanied me wherever I went._

_"Unwanted."_

_"Runt."_

_"Weak."_

No matter what I did, I could not escape them, until my Hogwarts letter came.

_I was lying on a cold floor, the walls creaking and moaning from the wind. Rain was pounding at the shutters, occasionally, a gust of wind would sneak under the door and chill me to my bones._

_Yet, I was almost eleven, and no amount of bad weather could shake the feeling that my life was about to change. I just could never of imagined that the changes would be so dramatic._

_Sometime later, a large man broke into the hut, and the words he spoke changed me forever. __"You're a wizard, Harry."_

At Hogwarts, I thought I had found a place to call home. But, even there, I stood out.

_Whispers followed me down the halls, into my classes, suffocating my interest to make friends in this new place. _

_I did not deserve my fame, I lived by mere chance, or some such. If I could see that, why couldn't they?_

I knew I was different after my fifth year. Dumbledore had told me why I had survived Lord Voldemort's attack, and I did not care that I was the "Chosen One," what point was there in living if almost everyone who you ever loved was dead? Why should I be needed to save Britain, nothing held me here, except the bodies of my parents, long gone to dust.

_It was one late summer night, after Dumbledore had shipped me back to the Dursley's for another summer, that I left. My mind was made up, I was never going back to Hogwarts, I was leaving Britain. Forever. _

_The stars were glittering coldly above my head as I walked down the road, and out of Privet Drive._

I made a life for myself, traveling the world, letting fate guide my path. Planning out my life had never worked that well at Hogwarts, so I saw no need to do so now.

But, I had done what I swore I'd never do. I was back in Britain, at Hogwarts. The towering stone walls had crumbled, the grey stones were spattered with blood.

I saw accusing glances everywhere, because I had left them, only to return at the time of their greatest need. They'd never understand why I had left, much less why I had returned.

I left as soon as I was no longer needed there, the memories hurt too much to stay.

I left as the stars began to fade, once more resolving that I would never return.

* * *

_Stretch Your Boundaries Competition,_ Round 2: Switch It Up: Word prompts - Memories, Dust, Stars; phrase prompts - "Never going back," "[They'll] never understand."

_Monthly Drabble a Thon - revamped - Challenge, _Spells/Potions: Diffindo.

_ Divergent Competition, _Amity #4: "The opinions of others cannot damage you."

_The Wand Wood Challenge/Competition:_ Holly.

_Interesting Words Challenge: _Friable.

_Hedley Song Challenge: _Never Too Late.

_Before I Fall Competition/Challenge: "_Some things are better left buried and forgotten."

_Essie Nail Polish Names Challenge:_ Need a Vacation.

_The Ten Times Ten Challenge,_ Institution: Hogwarts.

_The Classic Disney Movie Challenge!:_ Monsters Inc.


	8. Fallen (In) Love

_Word Count: _536.

When I told my family of my sexual preferences, my mother was shocked. What happened later wasn't truly her fault, it was just that such things were unthinkable to her. She had been raised to believe that women who prefered other women were unnatural, and should not exist.

I fled our house that night, flying away into the chilly night air. Out of all of my siblings, I would miss Bill the most. He didn't tease or pick on me, and he never looked down on me like I was still a little girl.

My first instinct was to go to Shell Cottage, until I remembered that it had been destroyed in the war, like so many other isolated homes. I turn aside from my earlier course and fly to Hogwarts.

The night looked silvery and frosted, all the trees wrapped in a shroud of ice, like they've been built out of plaster, as I saw a peak of the tallest tower over the horizon, I was awed and amazed at how well it has been rebuilt from war torn ruins.

I'm flying over the lake now, its smooth, black surface reflecting millions of stars. It really is cold out here tonight. The wind whistling past my face, though I can no longer feel it.

I have landed in front of Hogwarts' doors, and am hurrying to get out of the biting cold.

When I'm on my way to Neville's and Romilda's rooms, I am reminded of the time that my _darling _twin brothers showed me the kitchens. I head to them at a run in attempt to get my blood moving again.

When I open the door, a tea kettle is whistling in the background, and elves are preparing the next day's breakfast. Is it later than I thought? Surely it can't be later than midnight.

An elf must have heard me enter, and alerted the others, for I am hoarding off a barrage of offers to bring me food or tea.

I accept a mug of tea gratefully, and start toward my destination.

As I get closer, I change my mind about disturbing Neville and Romilda, because the last time I arrived, unannounced, in the middle of the night, I caught them in the act of producing as many children as possible. _Not _a sight I wanted to see. Ever.

They have decided they want at least three children, and Number Two is six months old. Also, Romilda hasn't announced another pregnancy yet, so I think I am quite right to stay well away from the Longbottom quarters.

Instead, I go to my usual guest rooms, which appear to be empty. I fall asleep immediately.

The next morning, I wake to the sight of a beautiful blonde woman stepping out of the shower. What had I done last night? Had I slept beside the woman of my dreams, without even knowing she was there?

Following my instincts, I kiss her. She kisses me back. We whisper words of love against each others lips.

I am happy, I have lost one family, but have gained another, better one.

_Mix and Match Pairing Competition,_ Round One: Pairing: Romilda/Neville; Prompts: Amazed, chilly, teakettle.

_Secret Battle Competition,_ Round One, Bill Weasley, Wind, Elves, A Lake.

_Mystery Couple Competition: _Gabrielle/Ginny.

_Interesting Words Challenge: _Selcouth - unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous.

_Hedley Song Challenge:_ Crazy For You.

_Before I Fall Competition/Challenge:,_ Quote #6: The night looks silvery and frosted, all the trees wrapped in a shroud of ice, like they've been built out of plaster.

_Essie Nail Polish Names Challenge:_ Smooth Sailing.

_That's You! Challenge,_ Tia - Write about Ginny Weasley.

_The Spell, Curse and Charm Challenge/Competition,_ Charms: Impervius.


	9. False Bliss

**Warning:** Mentions of torture and main character death.

_Word Count: _236.

Rich chestnut locks are caressed by an ocean breeze, tumbled around a face featuring a brilliant smile and cornflower blue eyes. My wife's face is glowing with happiness as she runs down sand dunes and into the clear, cool water.

I am waiting for her there, a young child by my feet and a smile on my face.

She is as happy to see me, and I am happy to see her. We kiss, and our child makes a disgusted sound at us.

This is my heaven, no more war, no more anything but a family I love.

Thoughts of my life pierce my cloud of bliss. I wish our marriage had gone like this, Astoria carefree and happy, Scorpius surrounded by love. Instead, our love had been shredded by the war. Why must fate be so cruel as to taunt me with happiness for all of time?

Somewhere deep inside me, I remember that I am dead, killed by Daphne in a fit of anger. Astoria's fate hurt me, for she did not deserve to be tortured into insanity, simply to hurt me. Perhaps after St Mungo's allows her to die, her mind shall heal. I do not know. _  
_

For now, Scorpius and I shall wait for her, playing in the sand and each of us enjoying a childhood we never had. This is our happily ever after, an eternity to wait for those who can heal us with their love.

_Canon vs Fanon __Competition, _Canon: Drastoria.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II, _Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany: Write about a happily ever after.

_Essie Nail Polish Names Challenge:_ Sea Breeze.

_The Female Character Challenge, _Catherine Earnshaw: Write about a relative ending a relationship.

_The Spell, Curse and Charm Challenge/Competition, _Charms, Aguamenti: Write about a scene next to an Ocean.

_The TV Show challenge/competition, _Bones: Write about a crime/murder.

_The Ten Times Ten Challenge,_ Color - Brown; Institution - St Mungo's; Non-Magical Object - Dagger.

_Twelve Days of Christmas Style Challenge, _Four House Fics: Slytherin.

_The Crayola Challenge:_ Cornflower.

_Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Competition, _#21: A Next Gen fic.

_The Animal Challenge/Competition,_ Grizzly Bear: Write about any mother in the series.


	10. Darkening Light

A/N: The flow of this is choppy, because it is someone's thought process.

I was tugged in two directions. Good or evil. Dark or Light. There were no answers to be found. Albus or Tom. It wasn't as clear cut as it might seem.

My family wanted Darkness. My friends wanted Darkness. I wanted Light. I wouldn't see them again if I chose Light.

How should I choose? There was no hope. My mother just died. Grief overflowed. The dank, dark house on Grimmauld Place grew grimmer still.

I chose Dark. My world was ending, for the Dark was darker than it had seemed. Nothing was the same any more. I choose Light.

I am dying, torn to shreds in a pool of blood for the Light. Darkness surrounds. I am gone.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II, _Port Moresby: Write about a struggle, metaphorical or literal.

_Last Man Standing Competition,_ Week One: Marauders Era.


	11. Me and Her

A/N: This is my first time using this narration technique, so feedback is much desired.

_Word Count:_ 336.

A whirling maelstrom of sound and light. An infinity of silence. An eternity of madness. Then, with a burst of wonder, there were other begins again. Confused, we shied away for we had forgotten how to interact, forgotten who they were, though they seem to know us. That is what we shared, and this is our tale.

One day I'm talking with my mother and father and two older brothers over the dinner table, the next I'm caught up in shifting realities.

Bits of dialogue float through my daze. Did I say them? I do not know.

"But, mummy, I don't like peas..."

The thud of falling down the stairs, someone landed in a tangle of limbs.

One day, she was dying, the next she feels stretched thin, flat, compressed. Silence resounds in what was once an upscale manor, and dust covers everything.

Then nasty blood traitors and filth invade her precious home, cluttering it up and scolding Kreacher, her darling elf.

One day, I was walking down a long dark tunnel, and a young boy was there. He told me, "I think we can be friends," but looked confused at my squeal of delight. Did he not want to be friends? Hurt, I withdraw into the burned-out mind.

After many years, her son returned to Grimmauld Place. The portrait said that she loved him and was sorry for the way she'd treated him. The Azkaban-hollowed man winced and silenced her.

We do not know why you don't hear what we say, do you even see us? We just want to be heard, for we cannot let go.

A sound grabs our attention. Someone new has joined us. His name is Albus. His name means pain. _Why?_

_Test Your Limits Competition II,_ Round Four, Phlegethon: the unreliable narrator technique; character - Ariana Dumbledore, character - the portrait of Walburga Black, action - falling down the stairs.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II, _ Argentina: Write about someone/something foreign, in any sense, or the winter.

_Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Competition, _44: A fic about a pureblood.


	12. Puzzle Pieces

_Word Count: _153.

Once we were close, my mother and I. Then she died, killed by an accident. She left me torn with grief, and I had to grow a mask too young. Or else people shied away from me. It was not right to see a broken soul in one so young.

Over time, scars covered what should have been joy in me, and I retreated farther into my turtle-like shell. My peers mocked, lacking understanding.

One day, I spied him across the Great Hall, and it was like a floodlight at midnight: overwhelming, but welcome. He was as fair and wounded as I, and he filled the hole my mother left in me.

Through the dark days of war we were each other solace from a cosmos of pain. In the climax of destruction, we died arm-in-arm.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II_, Ponte Rialto Bridge, Venice: Write about someone replacing someone/something, or a mother/daughter relationship.


	13. Ordinary Wall

_Word Count:_ 115.

One day, I was just an ordinary wall, behind an ordinary pub. Then, one day, a wizard came. He tapped me thrice, and since then I've had no rest. The wizard placed a spell upon me, so that I'd be a passage to a hidden way, and he didn't even ask first!

For, these magic types couldn't let a wall be a wall, and just install a door! They had to rearrange my bricks to come and go.

Maybe, one day, I'll just crumbled, and let them walk back and forth over my bones. But, for now, I'll stand and have them reconfigure me day by day.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II,_ London: Write about Diagon Alley.


	14. Broken Heart, Lifetime of Sorrow

_Word Count: _232.

The first time they met, passing each other in the halls, he was sure he was mistaken. A girl as incredible as Bellatrix Black had _winked_ at him. Him. Rodolpus Lestrange, no one in comparison to a family like the Black's.

The second time their pathes crossed, it was a few weeks later at the Ministry's Yule Ball, and she had been sitting across from him, finding every excuse to lean forward, making the front of her gown gape suggestively. Surely she must be mistaken, there was no way they would ever be wed. Yes, he had dreamed of their wedding and night my times, but it could never happen, could it?

The third time was no accident. He was completely sure that she had everything to do with her parents asking his for a betrothal agreement. He said yes, when they asked for his agreement. She was not asked her opinion.

Their wedding was beautiful, he was in love. She was his world.

The night that followed was a mess of tears, as she professed to love another. He had merely been a distraction, she did not love him. Broken, he stumbled away to join the Dark Lord. He didn't know until he saw her at the Death Eater's headquarters whom she truly loved.

He had committed himself to a lifetime of pain.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II,_ St. Petersburg, Russia: Use the phrase "three time's the charm" as inspiration.


	15. Ignorant Muggleborns

_Word Count: _168

We lived in parallel, innocent of the destruction happening in the world next door. Then, one day, McGonagall came to say that we were witches and wizards, and he had to go of to magic school.

There was no thought to whether we wished to remain Muggle, for we were drafted into a war. Granted, we were given seven years of training, in a beautiful stone prison, but we were canon fodder all the same.

For, we were Muggleborn, ignorant of all their ways. We didn't know how to choose dress robes, nor the proper way to greet a fellow magic user. But, we knew how to navigate most of the modern world. That didn't amount to much for them, because they were used to hiding and invisibility.

One day, we broke a Statute of Secrecy, and wrote seven books hoping to warn all of the witches and wizards to come. Hopefully, no one else would be tricked into leaving all they loved.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II,_ Osaka: Write about a Muggleborn.


	16. Chapters of Life

_Word Count: _210.

Once, so long ago, we were as close a group of friends as any, but one day, we grew so far away.

Remus was a werewolf.

Sirius was thrown from his home.

James took Sirius in.

Sirius and Remus began dating each other.

James accepted them, and had given his approval.

No one had asked or thought of me. Why hadn't they invited me over, asked my opinions on their revenge against the Blacks? Why had they shoved me out the door, and onto the doorstep, where I remained. Deep down, I'm still peering in the frosted-over window of our friendship, hoping they'll notice me and let me in.

After six months, I gave up any semblance of hope, yet my former friends were too busy with romance to notice. I let my Slytherin part overwhelm what made me Peter, after all, I'd only chose the House of Lions after meeting James on the train.

That chapter of my life was over and done with, though I wept inwardly as a page of blackness came crashing down on my weeping remnants.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II, _Vilnius, Lithuania: Write about someone who is two-faced, or write about a betrayal.


	17. Sorting Fears

_Word Count:_ 138.

We were told nothing about how we were to be Sorted, just that it would be done as soon as we arrived at Hogwarts.

We were lined up in a chamber off of the Great Hall, and left to wait with our fears. What House would I be in? Would I have to duel Dumbledore? Would my parents forgive me if I was a Slytherin? What if suddenly became a Squib? Or a squid?

I knew that last one wads a bit farfetched, but that's what I thought McGonagall said when she explained that my grandmother was one. A Squib, I mean, not a squid.

Long at last, I was Sorted. The hat had chosen well, and I made many friends in my House.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II,_ New Your City: Write about being Sorted into a House at Hogwarts.


	18. Split in Two

_Word Count: _137.

**Warnings:** Angst, character death.

To the sun, I presented a laughing, smiling, happy face. In the darkness of the depths of night, I was a broken, tortured person, split in two by the loss of one dear to me.

The happy face was for my family, they truly wanted me to recover, not knowing that I couldn't ever reclaim who I was before my other half died. The face found in darkness, under the cover of night, was who I truly was, and the only time I was left to be me.

Eventually, I got married, and had two small children. They reminded me so much if my twin that it was as if someone was repeatedly stabbing me.

Now, I am dead, reunited with Fred, my other half, my twin.

_Globetrotter Drabble Competition II,_ St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada: Write about something that takes place in the nighttime.


	19. Broken

_Word Count:_ 104.

After the war, we were left in tiny, broken fragments. Where we had once been a happy, peaceful family, a broken mockery had been left in its place.

My husband and daughter were gone, and all I had left was a young grandchild, grown up too fast. He was more prone to tears than laughter, and lived in a sea of funerals and grief.

My sisters were dead, my friends gone. I was simply to broken to go on living a life of lonely pain.

And so, I left a shattered world behind, finding solace in the arms of those who were once lost to me.

_Camp Potter II,_ Drabble Tag - Tedromeda, Broken.

_Open Category Competition: _Angst.


End file.
